There is always an opportunity to sell on social media because there’s always an audience. On Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and of course on YouTube. Whether you’re growing a YouTube channel for your personal brand or for your business, affiliate marketing is a monetization strategy you can take advantage of. 90% of YouTube Viewers in the United States [1] watch over a billion hours of video on the platform every day. This shows that YouTube has a huge potential consumer audience you can tap into.
One way to earn some cash is by marketing on another business’s behalf, which is called affiliate marketing. Here’s how it works. Let’s say Matt has a product he needs to sell. You (a YouTube content creator) promote his product. And for every sale he makes through your YouTube Videos, you earn a commission. Simple as that.
How to Get Started
You don’t have to find someone who has a product and wants to promote it. First, you should join an affiliate marketing program. There are several affiliate programs – from ClickBank to Affiliaxe, Impact, Clickfunnels, and many others. Once you join any affiliate program, you will be given an affiliate link. This link is a unique URL that is specific to you and that product. It keeps track of the sales that come from your video content.
Every time someone clicks on your link and buys the product, you get a commission. It’s also worth noting that you need to choose and promote products and services within your niche. You should avoid promoting products that are not relevant to your audience. If, for instance, you make home decor videos, you wouldn’t want to promote tech products for software engineers.
What Types of Videos Generate Affiliate Revenue?
There are different formats, styles, and types of YouTube video content you can use to promote your affiliate links. However, let’s look at the formats which have proven to be successful.
Product review videos
You should consider creating a single product review or product comparison review. Instead of just mentioning the product features, it does help if you have the product or use the service. These types of review videos where you have the product, as you explain, usually attract many views. This explains why 62% of consumers are more likely to buy if they can view both photo and video content from previous customers [2].
Unboxing videos
This video content style involves you as a creator opening up a package and then sharing the product’s features and your experience. You don’t have to buy every product you review. If you ask nicely, most companies are willing to give out their products in exchange for a positive review.
How-To videos
How-to videos are informative video content that shows the audience how to do something the right way while recommending products that make the activity easy. You should try as much as possible to demonstrate how the product works. Consumers love social proof videos, and this singular demonstration may drive your affiliate marketing conversions through the roof.
‘Best of’ videos
These are roundup video reviews of different products. To earn from this type of video content, you need to be an authority on the subject matter. This way, whatever verdict you give or whichever product you rank as the best, your audience will value your opinion. Several YouTube video content creators use this video format to promote their Amazon affiliate links.
Where to Include Your Affiliate Links
There are two main options, and they work better when used together.
The description
You should always place your affiliate links in the description. This way your viewer does not miss it, and you should also encourage them to check your description at some point in your video. You can mention it multiple times if possible.
YouTube Cards
In addition to including your links in your descriptions, you should use YouTube Cards. You can find these non-intrusive notifications at the top-right corner of the YouTube video player.
Best Practices
- Always provide an affiliate disclaimer.
- Share your videos on social media.
- Include a call to action that asks your viewers to check out the video description.
- Ask your viewers to subscribe to your channel.
- Promote your videos on your blog as well.
- Don’t be overly salesy.
- Do a lot of research before making a video; remember that you are competing with other talented YouTubers.
Videos on YouTube will always be available to new viewers, so you can make money on the platform both now and for years to come. YouTube is a competitive platform to do business on, so you have to be sensible when choosing your niche and be creative about your video. Just like anything else, in affiliate marketing, practice makes perfect and a little bit of money.
References
[1] Oberlo. 10 YOUTUBE STATS EVERY MARKETER SHOULD KNOW IN 2021
[2] Netimperative. Real customer photos driving two thirds of online purchases
You’ve probably heard of YouTube—the place where your favorite celebrities, influencers, and the next generation of stars are born. But if you think that in order to get on YouTube you need expensive equipment or a fancy degree from an Ivy League university, then let me tell you how wrong you are! Yes it helps to have some gear (a camera for starters), but I promise that with good content and enough creativity anything YouTube on a budget is possible. So don’t be discouraged by what other people say about how they can only succeed because they had all these resources at their disposal–you too can make something out of nothing just as easily. And when we’re talking about making videos without big bucks backing them up, there’s one thing
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